Is it possible to save this record?

[Lysander]

Hi all,

I bought a record off a well-known marketplace. Grading for the media was NM but turns out this was a visual grading only. On play, the record is full of crackling - but only in the louder sections.

I've cleaned the record but it's still bad. The thing is that the record LOOKS great but crackles like a medieval hearth in the louder sections. Any idea why this could be or what I could do it save it? It doesn't happen with any other records and the turntable is new.

[crofk]

You might give glue a try. There are a couple of threads in the Record Cleaning section that will give you an idea of how this works and what results other people have had with it.

Take a look.

kc

[bpbutler]

I've had this happen more than once. In some cases, I'm pretty sure the crackling is due to smoke particles, which are too small to be seen. Fortunately, the glue technique seems to be effective at handling smoke-contaminated records, at least in my experience.

[dragonhead00]

I've found that by taking a cotton swab and wetting the tips with record cleaner and pressing it into the grooves firmly but gently you can get the dirt particles that brushes miss. You'll be paying special attention to the deadwax areas. Those areas seem to require a little more effort due to the greater flat areas between the rotations. You can perform it on the TT, turning the platter as you press the swab into the record grooves, to quicken the process. It is time-consuming but, hey, you get out of it what you put into it. Right? I did a full wash and scrub with soap/alcohol solution and soft paint brush. After I ran the swab into the grooves, I was able to pull out even more dirt that showed up on the tip. I've been able to get rid of the tics and pops from most of my records that way.

The only problem with using wood glue is that if you don't do it right, you'll be pulling tiny bits of glue out of the grooves.

[Lysander]

Thanks, everyone.I tried the glue method, and it's the same as before. Washed it carefully with soap and water, and towel dried it. Still the same.

Could this just be down to a bad pressing?

[kelvinMunson]

Could be down to groove damage due to previously being played with a worn, damaged or badly set up stylus.

[Lysander]

Thanks, Kevin. Yes, it looks like it may be beyond repair. The seller has agreed to a refund. Thanks, everyone.

[josephazannieri]

Yo Lysander:

When I get records like this, I transfer them to CD using the click remover in my sound card. I understand that it's not the same as playing them, but at least I get the benefit of the music. You always have the problem of these "eyeball" grading methods, because the "eyeballer" is not always accurate. Pretty much everything is "near mint," whatever that means.

My last Ebay purchase was a disappointment similar to the one you describe, but I got a partial refund from seller, because it was a rare record that I wanted desperately, and I was going to keep it anyway. It was an inexperienced visual grader, who had been selling records on Ebay for about a year. I think you pretty much have to play the record to know how it will sound.

Also some stereo rigs make more of the crackles than some other rigs. But that's another story.

And good luck from the old click remover,

Joe Z.

[Lysander]

Joseph, I've never come across this click remover before. I'm using an Audigy 2. I'll look for the remover in the drivers. Thanks.

[josephazannieri]

Yo Lysander:

I have a Soundblaster Audigy 2 myself. In the Mediasource Organizer area, you will find a button for Advanced EQ on the recording control. When you click on that button, you will open up a set of windows. Go to the window labeled "cleanup" and you will find the noise remover and the click remover. You can listen live to the changes by starting with "What U Hear," and then using the line mix and the controls. DO NOT USE the noise remover. It uses a phase algorithm, and makes the music sound "squishy," like the mid frequencies are out of phase. But click remover is great. I use it all the time. It sure beats cutting the clicks out one by one like I used to have to do with tape. Later in day, when I am at my sound and recording computer, I can give a better description of how you get to the click remover.

And good luck from the old click remover himself,

Joe Z.

[Dave W]

How do you clean it? I had the same with a copy of Uriah Heep's Demons And Wizards. Cleaned it a couple of time with my Knosti cleaner and got rid of most of the crackles and pops.

[nesster97]

If its not that rare of a record just buy another copy but if he agreed to a refund thats a different story

[EdAInWestOC]

It sounds like it may have been wet played and put away damp. I've found a few of those jems and they can be difficult to get cleaned up properly.

The best way to clean up that kind of mess is with a good quality enzyme cleaner followed up by an alcohol based cleaner then followed by a good rinse in very pure distilled water. I use a commercial enzyme cleaner that is sold for use in hospitals and other industrial uses here in the US. The cleaner is know as Sporicidin and you get a lot for your money but it isn't cheap.

Sporicidin is mixed with distilled water with about 12-20 drops per 4oz of water. You spray on this solution onto the LP and work it in with a good cleaning brush. These can be bought from Disc Doctor or Mobile Fidelity but don't get cheap with this step because the better quality the cleaning brush, the better quality your results will be.

You spray on the Sporicidin and work it in with the brush and allow it to sit for 5 minutes. After it sits for 5 minutes you vacuum it off or rinse it off. Sporicidin will leave the surface with a significant haze and it will be necessary to clean off the residual Sporicidin with a alcohol based cleaner then a very pure distilled water rinse.

Between each of these rinse steps you will need to vacuum off the rinse solution. A vacuum machine is very important in getting LPs really clean but there are other ways in getting LPs clean but these methods are more labor intensive and not as effective.

The point is using an enzyme cleaner to remove any organic nasties in the grooves and then rinse off the enzyme cleaner with a rinse that leaves nothing behind...either enzyme or from the rinse itself.

If someone tells you a single cleaner does everything you need for all situations I would be prepared to be sold a bridge somewhere. Just like cleaning anything else, the type of cleaner necessary to get a LP clean depends on what is on that LP. Most of the time a single type of cleaner might be OK but there are those LPs that defy your standard approach. This requires more than one fluid to tackle the job.

Please note that you may have to repeat the enzyme, alcohol, distiller water routine a few tmes to get it clean. Depending on the amount of organic junk in the grooves it may take some time to get it clean.

Good Luck getting it clean,
Ed

Note: the alcohol based cleaner noted above is a combination of distilled water, alcohol plus a distribution agent. There are a lot of these to choose from and are sold under a variety of names.